Food preparation tables are commonly used in commercial establishments for preparing food products that incorporate multiple ingredients. A typical food preparation table includes a frame and housing structure having an internal refrigeration or other cooling system. An upper surface of the housing includes a front preparation surface that is cooled and a rear food storage arrangement that may include multiple individual pans for holding multiple individual food items that can be used in the preparation of food products. The pans are also cooled in order to keep the food items fresh.
Food item catchment systems have been used in the past to catch food items dropped over the front preparation surface. Such catchment systems have typically included a fixed frame atop the food preparation surface that can hold grate structures and includes one or more forward facing slots that allow food pans to be moved into and out of the space below the grate structures. Fixed frame catchment systems, however, are not conducive to table manufacture or cleanability.
It would be desirable to provide a food preparation table that includes a grate and catch pan arrangement that is more convenient to manufacture, more convenient to use and/or more convenient to clean.